DOT appoints Gorton as regional director

POUGHKEEPSIE — William Gorton has been appointed the state Department of Transportation’s regional director in the Hudson Valley, after serving in an acting capacity for four years.

DOT Commissioner Joan McDonald also promoted eight other employees to regional director posts across the state. The majority of them had been serving in a temporary capacity as well. The DOT has 11 regional offices.

Judy Rife

POUGHKEEPSIE — William Gorton has been appointed the state Department of Transportation’s regional director in the Hudson Valley, after serving in an acting capacity for four years.

DOT Commissioner Joan McDonald also promoted eight other employees to regional director posts across the state. The majority of them had been serving in a temporary capacity as well. The DOT has 11 regional offices.

The appointments, from Civil Service lists, follow interviews that McDonald conducted last fall and coincide with the state’s new budget year. The permanent appointees received raises but no retroactive pay for their tenure as acting regional directors. Salaries average $127,000 annually.

Asked why now, after years of delay in filling the positions, Jennifer Post, a DOT spokeswoman, said there was no significance to the timing.

The Cuomo administration had been considering proposals to consolidate some DOT regions, plans opposed by state legislators who stood to lose offices in their districts.

Gorton, a 32-year DOT engineer, grew up in Washingtonville in Orange County and now lives in Ulster County. He was regional design engineer when he was tapped as acting regional director in 2009.